The SEO Boost That Comes From Comments

Writing by Nick Stamoulis ShareThis

Blogs and websites that allow commenting are often gaining a substantial SEO boost without even knowing it. Those sites that block comments are probably missing out – I say probably because not all comments help in your rankings. Why do comments help?

Web Pro News has an interesting post on how comments increase the value of content. The Huffington Post is used as an example with the broad statement that ‘comments are the reason for the sites success’. I would argue that it is the quality of the content that has lead to its success. However, that content led to comments and over time ‘conversations’ between readers. Web Pro News itself often receives 50+ comments for posts with readers often debating issues between themselves.

How does this help on site search engine optimization? It all comes back to popularity. The more people that comment, the more likely you are to find individuals writing about the same issue with, you guessed it, a link back to the original post (come to think about it, that is what I have done here). More relevant links, better rankings. What is important is to engage the reader, draw them into commenting and to then develop a debate between commentators. Readers will either come back to see how the debate is progressing, or in the case of blogs, perhaps subscribe to follow up comments.

For the site owner, it is a huge win and it hasn’t taken a lot of hard work. Get those comments flowing and you will be surprised at how many people will pick up the thread and publish their own take on the subject. The hardest part is in engaging the reader to leave decent comments!